Home is Where the Heart Is
by Catrina Winner
Summary: [Heero/OC] The Gundam Pilots have settled down (set after Endless Waltz) to a more or less normal life. Quatre gathers his friends together for a reunion which turns out to be more then accounted for! Complete.
1. Chapter One

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Home is Where the Heart Is  
  
Chapter 1  
  
I want lots of feedback on my story! Please send all comments to catrina_winner@sailormoon.com. Thank you very much. Oh yeah, and flames are welcome. Very welcome. *Evil laughter in the background*  
  
Some Stuff to Know  
  
Treize is alive and is married to Lady Une.  
  
Relena has been assassinated. Peace has been attained even with her death.  
  
Noin and Zechs have also been married.  
  
Duo and Hilde manage a scrap yard together.  
  
Sally and Wufei manage a restaurant together. (Wufei in a restaurant….no comment…)  
  
Heero lives with Duo and Hilde and helps them with the upkeep of the scrap yard.  
  
Dorothy's gone insane. It was the eyebrows.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing….though I wish that I did…  
  
One more thing. I refuse to pair Quatre with Dorothy (evil cockroach lady…) and I am NOT pairing Trowa with his sister. So these two will not be paired with anyone. They are very good friends. Neither of them are yaoi-inclined in this story, but they do act affectionate to each other. They are ONLY good friends. ONLY.  
  
Okay-everyone lives very far apart and hardly ever see each other anymore. Therefore, Quatre took it upon himself to invite everyone to a Christmas party at one of his larger mansions on Earth. This story is set several days till Christmas.  
  
   
  
AC 200  
  
Winner Mansion  
  
Heero looked around the room. And sighed.  
  
Why do I get myself into these these things? he asked himself. He looked over at Quatre. Quatre blinked.  
  
"Where's Duo?" he asked. Heero glanced about. Duo hadn't arrived yet. The doorbell rang. "That must be him!" Quatre exclaimed. "Heero, will you get the door for me, please? I hear the phone ringing."  
  
Heero stood and made his way to the door. He swung it open and was assaulted by….a spinning Duo?!?  
  
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!" he sang out to Heero.  
  
"Hn," Heero replied.  
  
"GuesswhatHeeroIaskedherlikeyousaidishouldandshesaidyessowedecidedtosettheda teforsometimeinlateDecemberorearlyJanuarybutIthink…OW! What was that for?" Duo stopped his amazing tirade after Heero grabbed his braid and gave it a hard tug.  
  
"Slow down."  
  
"Okay. Geez, that hurt!" Duo rubbed his head before remembering why he was so happy. His eyes lit up and he began to spin again.  
  
"Hilde said YES!" he exclaimed and began to spin even faster. This angered Heero, who was already dizzy enough and was now royally pissed off. He again grabbed Duo's braid and tried to halt him. This time, however, Duo was not so lucky. Thrown off balance by the pull on his braid, he spun wildly about the room, and crashed into a wall.  
  
"OW!! You sure are in an abusive mood today, buddy," he mumbled before becoming overly happy again and beginning to bounce up and down.  
  
"Stop," Heero growled. Duo stopped. He didn't want to repeat the wall incident. "Now talk," he commanded.  
  
"Hilde and I are getting hitched!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Heero winced.  
  
"Really."  
  
"Yep! Soon, too. Will you be best man….please?" Duo gave Heero his best puppy eyes.  
  
"Only if you stop that," Heero snapped.  
  
"YES! Perfect. Now, Heero, where's the food?" Heero pointed to the kitchen and watched as Duo spun off.  
  
   
  
Back in the Living Room  
  
Quatre was hanging up the telephone as Heero came in.  
  
"Was that Duo?" he asked. Heero nodded. A scream filled the house.  
  
"MAXWELL!! WHAT ARE YOU DOIN….YO..YOU…AN...HIL…HILDE!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"  
  
"Was that Wufei?" Quatre asked nervously. Heero nodded again. "Why would he scream like that?"  
  
"Ask him," Heero said as Duo bounded into the room. He left.  
  
Dinner  
  
Quatre looked about the noisy table. Hilde had arrived shortly after Duo and the two had been tearing around like wild animals. Now Duo and Hilde were trying their hand at swordplay with butter knives. Trowa was staring at them. Heero was absorbed on a small spot on the wall, over everybody's head. Wufei was looking down at his food, trying to ignore everyone. Zechs and Noin were staring at each other. Lady Une and Treize were discussing the bubble baths. Sally was trying to get Heero to talk to her unsuccessfully. Suddenly, Wufei's head swung up and he narrowed his eyes at Duo.  
  
"MAXWELL!" he shouted. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. "Do you and Hilde plan to…have a family?" Wufei asked.  
  
Duo blinked. "Kids?"  
  
"Yes…kids!"  
  
"Well, of course! We want lots of them, right Hilde-babe?" Duo's eyes glittered. "What do ya say…Uncle Wufei?" Everyone was smiling at the thought of young children. No one noticed Wufei beginning to twitch and ramble.  
  
"L…l…little Maxwell's? Un…Uncle? LITTLE? More…MORE!?!? AHHHHHHHHHH!!" he screeched and fled the room.  
  
"Oh, dear…" Quatre sighed.  
  
  


	2. Chapter Two

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Home is Where the Heart Is  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Later- in the Living Room  
  
Sally stepped in.  
  
"Well?" Quatre asked her. "Is Wufei okay?"  
  
"He just had a nervous breakdown. Apparently, more than one Maxwell was too much for him to handle," she smiled. "He should be fine by morning." Duo smirked. Hilde giggled.  
  
"Oh!" Quatre said.  
  
"Oh?" Duo echoed.  
  
"I forgot to tell you guys with all the excitement! My sister's coming and should be here by Christmas!"  
  
"Really?" Sally asked.  
  
"Oh, how wonderful!" Noin said.  
  
"Injustice…" muttered Wufei.  
  
"…" blinked Trowa.  
  
"Oh great," Zechs sighed.  
  
"Sweet!" exclaimed Hilde.  
  
"I'm very happy for you, Quatre," Lady Une commented.  
  
"Excellent!" Treize whispered, tapping his fingertips together.  
  
"Which one?" Duo asked loudly. Hilde slapped him. "OW! Hey…"  
  
"Don't be rude, dear," Hilde said.  
  
"But….he has so many!" Duo complained.  
  
"It's okay, Hilde. I understand. After all, thirty sisters is quite a lot."  
  
"THIRTY?!?!"  
  
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that too, huh?" Quatre gulped. He tried to shrink into the wall as Hilde, Noin, Lady Une, and Sally closed him into an inescapable semi-circle. Quatre sweatdropped.  
  
"Tell us!" hissed Hilde. Sally and Noin inched closer to him. Lady Une reached for her glasses.  
  
"I'll tell!" Quatre yelped. Even a former Gundam pilot couldn't stand that kind of torture. Trowa felt pity for the young man. He wished he could help without being caught in the middle of those four women. Duo was feeling quite happy that he wasn't the one in, as he fondly called it, The Circle of Death.  
  
"Um…well, I…I met her a few months ago. I…It was through DNA testing." The circle tightened. "Uh…her name is C….Catrina…" he rushed on. Hilde began to think aloud.  
  
"Catrina?" she said thoughtfully. "Where have I heard that name before?"  
  
"Hilde!" Duo exclaimed. "Catrina's the girl who wanted the gundanium!" Hilde's eyes lit with remembrance.  
  
"Yes! She wanted it for…what was that for?"  
  
"She never said," Duo reminded her. "Was kinda cute th…OW! Hilde!"  
  
"CUTE?"  
  
"Hehe-cute Hilde. But not beautiful like you."  
  
"Really, Duo?" Hilde's eyes sparkled.  
  
"You know it, babe!" Duo said. Sally cleared her throat.  
  
"Where were we?" she asked, looking over at Quatre.  
  
"Um…right. Well, it turns out that she's younger then me by a couple months…almost a year…"  
  
"Younger?! But all your sisters are older then you!" Duo cried.  
  
"Well, not this one. My family never knew about her…until recently," Quatre explained.  
  
"Oh." Duo looked confused.  
  
"Yeah. And she should be here tomorrow!" Quatre said happily. Wufei stumbled into the room.  
  
"Sally….where's the aspirin? My head hur…hur…aaaaaaaaAAAHHHHHHHH!" Wufei took one look at Duo and Hilde sitting together and promptly passed out.  
  
"Where's my camera?" Duo asked, leaping from his seat.  
  
  


	3. Chapter Three

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Home is Where the Heart Is  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Night: Heero's Room 1:48  
  
Heero stared at the ceiling. He still couldn't sleep. He just wasn't tired.  
  
A slight wind ruffled his unruly hair. He sighed. That breeze sure felt good.  
  
Wait…breeze? My window's not open…or at least it wasn't. Heero stiffened. Someone was in his room. He moved his head slightly until he could see the window. It was wide open, the curtains flapping lightly. There was a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye. Keeping his breathing slow, Heero carefully eased his gun from its hiding place under the mattress.  
  
Heero inched his arm up until the gun's safety was off and it was prepared to fire. The movement came again. Heero took aim and shot. The shadowy figure rolled out of harms way...almost. There was a tearing noise as the bullet hit the figure. A soft cry of pain was heard.  
  
After the cry, everything happened at once. Heero readied himself for another shot when he felt a sharp pain on his wrist, causing him to drop the gun and wince in pain. Then came the second pain. Heero felt his own gun crash onto the back of his skull.  
  
Just before he blacked out, he managed to yell his trademark. "OMAE O KOROSU!!" He heard a giggle. "Yeah right, buddy." Then everything went black.  
  
*********    
  
Duo jumped out of bed. In the adjoining room, he heard a gun go off and the sound of Heero shouting.  
  
What has he done now? Duo wondered, tearing out of his room. He met everyone else in the hallway.  
  
He quickly kicked the locked door in. The sight that met his eyes was strange indeed. There, on the bed, lay an unconscious Heero and a young girl efficiently tying him up. She wore blue jeans and a baggy sweater. Her auburn hair was pulled into a ponytail and, even from the doorway, Duo could see her jade-green eyes shining.  
  
Like a cat, he thought. In her mouth was what Duo recognized to be Heero's favorite gun. Quatre pushed past him.  
  
"Catrina? Is that you?" he asked. Duo blinked. This is Catrina? At the mention of her name, Catrina's head swung up.  
  
"Quatre? Quatre!" She leapt up, pushing off the unfortunate Heero Yuy's stomach. Heero moaned. Cat bounded over to Quatre and enveloped him in a hug. Suddenly she yelped. "Careful, there Quatre! My arm…."  
  
"So…I see you've met Heero," Sally interrupted.  
  
"Heero? That's his name. I must say that guy's got a great aim. Wrecked one of my nicer sweaters. Underestimates his opponents, though."  
  
What? Duo thought, this girl must be crazy! Heero of all people… As introductions were made, no one noticed a very angry Heero tear free of the ropes that bound him and begin to make his way towards the small gathering. Catrina was the first to hear him and, by then, he was directly behind her, giving her his best Death Glare. Even Zechs shrank from it. Catrina turned around. And smiled.  
  
"Great glare ya got there, Heero. By the way, you owe my a new sweater." She patted Heero's arm and turned around. Poor Heero made a very painful mistake. He grabbed her ponytail, much like he grabbed Duo's braid, and tried to turn Cat around.  
  
"Heero…NO! Catrina…please, don..." Quatre began. But it was too late. Cat swung about and gave Heero a punch he would remember. Heero, taken aback by the force of it, staggered backwards. His neck swung back and he heard his head hit the wall with a resounding crack. Grunting, he stood, all ready to return the favor. However, before he could do anything, Duo stepped into his path and put his arms up.  
  
"Now…let's be nice…" he said. Heero looked ready to kill. And he probably is, Duo thought. He swallowed. This probably wasn't the best way to meet someone new. I hope this won't effect any long-term relationships.  
  
Breakfast  
  
Quatre looked from his eggs as Catrina sauntered into the room.  
  
"You're finally up!" he said happily.  
  
"Quatre, I've been up since four A.M."  
  
"Four A.M.? What ever for?" Quatre asked. "I thought that you were on a vacation!"  
  
"I am on vacation. I just had some work to catch up on," Catrina explained. "And then of course, my arm needed fixing, which Sally helped with. See?" She held up her left arm for inspection.  
  
"What happened? Are you okay?" Quatre asked worriedly at the sight of the bandaged arm.  
  
"Oh…I never got to tell you last night, huh?" Cat mused.  
  
"Tell me what?" Quatre was almost shouting with impatience now.  
  
"Well, your friend Heero took a shot at me last night. Missed me mostly, but wrecked a nice sweater and messed up my arm."  
  
"Heero shot you?!?" Quatre asked incredulously. Duo's mouth fell open. Man, and I thought earlier they got off to a bad start!  
  
"Where is Heero, anyway?" Duo asked. As he spoke, Sally walked in. She moved over to the coffee machine.  
  
"Gee, who ever knew that such a little girl could pack such a punch?" she asked to no one in particular. Hilde stepped into the room.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Hey Hilde! Boy, did you miss a show last night! Catrina here met Heero," Duo said.  
  
"Really…what happened? Tell me!" Hilde sat down next to Duo and propped her chin on her hands. Just then, Heero walked in. Duo began to grin slowly.  
  
"Morning, Heero. How's your head feeling?" he asked, hoping for a reaction out of the usually stoic pilot. Heero glared at him. "That good, huh?" Heero said nothing. He sat down in a seat as far away from Catrina as he could. Catrina looked up, amusement written across her face as she saw the Great Heero Yuy's behavior towards her. Heero, sensing her amusement, also looked up. Their eyes locked. The tension in the room was palpable. Heero launched into one of his better Death Glares and Catrina's face took on a hue of someone who was trying not to burst out laughing.  
  
It was Duo who broke the tension first. "Yuy vs. Winner…." he broke into giggles. The others looked at Duo then at Heero and Cat. Soon, the entire dining room was filled with laughter. This angered Heero even more.  
  
"What?" he snarled. Duo took one look at his face and began laughing harder. (If that's possible.) He was laughing so hard, in fact, that he rolled off his chair and smashed into the floor with a bone-jarring crunch. Yet he never stopped his giggling. Catrina's eyes widened at Duo's painful impact with the floor.  
  
"Don't worry," Hilde reassured her. "He does that all the time."  
  
"Oh…." Catrina looked a bit surprised, but said nothing else.  
  
  
  
Later-Garden Outside Quatre's House  
  
"So, you're the infamous Catrina, huh?" Hilde asked. Catrina looked over at Hilde.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Didn't you work with the Preventors for awhile?"  
  
"Maybe…"  
  
"Gee…you're as bad as Heero! Hey….you're as bad as Heero!" Hilde exclaimed. Her eyes lit. "You're as bad as Heero!" Hilde took off.  
  
"Hilde! Where are you going?" Catrina called after her. But Hilde was already in the house.  
  
Inside  
  
"DUO!!" Hilde yelled.  
  
"In here, Hilde!" came her answer from somewhere deep in the back of the house.  
  
"In where?"  
  
"Guess!" Duo said jovially. Hilde turned and ran for the kitchen.  
  
   
  
Kitchen  
  
Duo glanced at Hilde's flushed face as she ran into the room.  
  
"Anything wrong, Hilde?" he asked her.  
  
"No…I just had a bit of a fun idea that's all."  
  
"Fun?" Duo's head snapped up. "What kind of fun?"  
  
"Well, y'know Catrina and how's she's quiet, yet deadly." Duo snickered. "And Heero, the Perfect Solider…."  
  
"Oh, no…Hilde…I like you alive. Do you have some kind of death wish?" Duo asked her angrily. "If you're talking about setting those two up…Heero would kill you!" he fumed.  
  
"Duo, what if we didn't do it?" Hilde said.  
  
"What?" Duo looked confused.  
  
"Simple. Wufei will set them up."  
  
"Wufei? He won't help us! Why would he…" Hilde lifted her hand to cut Duo off.  
  
"Let me explain," she said. "Wufei will set Heero and Catrina up, but he actually won't do anything at all." Hilde smiled. "Understand?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Duo! Wufei sets them up and we set Wufei up!" Hilde patiently explained. As a spark of understand crept into Duo's eyes she grinned even wider.  
  
"Perfect! But, what if Wufei catches us?" Duo asked suddenly.  
  
"And when do you think Wufei will have time to do that? I mean, after all, hiding from Heero is quite a task, is it not?" Hilde asked sweetly. Their faces wore matching evil grins as they began their plans.  
  
   
  
  


	4. Chapter Four

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Home is Where the Heart Is  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Living Room  
  
"Wufei! Wait up!" Hilde called. Wufei slowly turned.  
  
"What is it, women?" he asked.  
  
"I've got something to do. Could you ask Heero to head down to the basement? Don't tell him I asked, though. There's a surprise for him down there. I knew I could only trust you to deliver the message because of your superior intelligence," Hilde begged.  
  
"Fine," Wufei grumbled and moved off to find Heero.  
  
Stupid male chauvinist, Hilde thought as she watched him leave.  
  
In the garden  
  
"Catrina? Are you out here?" Duo called. Catrina appeared out of some bushes to the right of him. "There you are. Hilde asked me to apologize for her running off like that. Oh, by the way, Wufei asked me to give this to you. Nice seeing you! Gotta go, though. They have this awesome movie coming on channel 14!" Duo bounded off.  
  
Cat looked down at the short note.  
  
Meet me in the basement. VERY important.  
  
Wufei  
  
Wufei? Odd. Deciding that it really must be important if Wufei was willing to tolerate her presence for any short time, Catrina started for the house.  
  
Basement  
  
Catrina moved down the stairs into the inky darkness. Suddenly, a bright flash of light momentarily blinded her. Before she was able to see again she felt something hard crash into the base of her skull.  
  
"Sorry…" Duo said. "But, we can't take any chances." She never heard.  
  
 Basement Door  
  
Heero looked down into the dark. Why would Wufei want me to go down there, anyway? However, being Heero and all, he really didn't care. He started down. When he reached the base of the staircase, he looked back up. The door, his only source of light, was rapidly closing. Wheeling about he bolted for it. He reached the door just as the lock clicked. Throwing all his weight into he heard it begin to splinter. Then he heard something heavy move in front of the door on the opposite side. What the?!  
  
He heard a loud groan behind him. Heero reached into his pocket and pulled out his small flashlight. Happy I thought to bring this. He carefully shined it through the corners of the small room. For such a big place Quatre sure has a small basement. Boxes were littered randomly about. The entire area was covered in a thick coat of dust and grime. As his flashlight slid about the room, it landed on a slight figure. Catrina. What was she doing here?  
  
"My head…who?" she started. Then recognition flooded into her eyes. "It was you," Cat hissed, her voice laced with venom. "You…you put me in here and knocked me out. How dare…" Heero held up a hand.  
  
"I did nothing," he said in a cold voice. Catrina looked unconvinced.  
  
"Really? Then who…Wufei!" she swiftly deduced, her emerald eyes narrowing into tiny slits.  
  
"Wufei brought you down here, too?" Heero asked in a bored voice.  
  
"Yes! Well…sort of. He gave me a note."  
  
"Told me I had a surprise." Catrina looked up and had to hide a smile. Heero, actually coming for a surprise. "What's so funny?" Heero demanded.  
  
"You and a surprise? I just don't see the connection," she answered.  
  
"Oh, really?" Heero snarled. "It seems to me you don't see much of anything!" A small spark of anger lit his eyes.  
  
"Oh?! Would you like to back that comment up?" Catrina stood up.  
  
"I will. But no fighting."  
  
"No fighting? Think that I'll whip you again, huh?" she challenged.  
  
"I'll fight you after we get out of here!" Heero was actually angry. He hadn't been angry with anybody but Duo in a long time. "Right now, we need to get out and pay Wufei back," he said.  
  
"All right," Catrina said slowly. "But…first would you turn out that light? It hurts my eyes."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me. I can't see well with that on."  
  
"Fine." The light went out. Heero turned to begin his search and immediately ran into a rather large pile of cardboard boxes. He began to cough as dust filled his lungs. Out of the dark, he heard a rather annoyed voice.  
  
"Let your eyes adjust before you move, amateur!" Catrina said.  
  
"Amateur?" Heero questioned. There was no response.  
  
   
  
Living Room  
  
"Wufei did what?" Quatre almost yelled. "And just how long have they been down there?"  
  
"Hours. At least four," Hilde tried to hold back a giggle. "I didn't know Wufei had it in him."  
  
"Okay, we'll just get them out. No big deal," Quatre said nervously.  
  
"Shouldn't Wufei get them since he did this?" Duo asked. "It could be a kind of punishment for him…."  
  
"Since when is death a punishment?" Quatre asked.  
  
"You're right. We'll have to send down the only one who could ever handle Heero Yuy."  
  
"Zechs? But, what about Catrina?"  
  
"Zechs should be able to take care of her, too…I hope," Hilde finished.  
  
   
  
Basement Door  
  
Zechs stood staring at the door that could be leading him right into his doom. Heero and Catrina…He had seen what Catrina had done to the Great Heero Yuy. The Great Heero Yuy who had never been defeated. He didn't like the odds. He didn't like them at all. Taking a deep breath, he swung open the door.  
  
"Heero, Catrina. I'm here to let you two out." No answer. "Heero? Catrina?" Zechs moved down into the basement. "Oh…my…dear," he whispered. "Quatre? You might want to see this."  
  
Quatre moved down the steps and saw…that…his basement…was blown up. In the right corner a large hole had been made in the ceiling, most likely made by small explosives. Quatre slowly climbed the crates that had been stacked under the hole and found himself standing in the master bedroom. From there, it appeared that the door had had a serious force applied to it. When the heavy oak doors did not open, the window's glass had been punched out. Quatre stared at the totaled room. Why me? he asked himself. Why me? 


	5. Chapter Five

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Home is Where the Heart Is  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Several Days later- Christmas Eve  
  
Quatre watched as the last of the reupholsters left. It had been almost a week since Heero and Catrina escaped from the basement. Quatre had finally had his house fixed and had dragged promises from both Catrina and Heero that they would not use explosives in the house anymore. He had then spent the rest of the week trying to discover what good this little episode had done. Quatre had finally decided that because of their entrapment, Heero and Catrina could now tolerate each other's presence. In fact, you might even go so far as to say that they had become friends.  
  
Where are those two anyway? he wondered. Quatre still didn't like to leave them alone. Even with the budding of a new friendship, they still threatened each other constantly. Quatre decided he would go look for them to make sure they didn't kill each other before Christmas. He pushed open a door into one of his many gardens. There he found Wufei, hunched down below a rather large grove of bushes.  
  
"Wufei!" he called out. Wufei leapt up and swung his katana about until it was inches away from Quatre's throat.  
  
"Quatre? What are you doing here?" he demanded, lowering his katana.  
  
"Um…I'm looking for my sister and Heero. Have you seen them?" Quatre asked.  
  
"Hopefully not," mumbled Wufei. "Maxwell and his girlfriend set me up to make the Heero and Catrina set up look like my fault. Now they both want to kill me. And now I must avoid them!" Wufei left in search of a better hiding place. Quatre watched him go, perplexed.  
  
His head snapped up from its thoughtful position as he heard a loud clanging noise come from one of his smaller tool sheds that were littered about the estate. Quatre slowly approached the offending building and knocked lightly on the door. All the noise stopped the moment his fist hit it. The door swung open and his sister's head poked out.  
  
"Quatre? It's you! What do you need?" Catrina asked sweetly. In the background, Quatre heard several death threats and curses directed towards tools and other various objects. Catrina closed her eyes as if to ward off an oncoming headache. "If you broke that again, I swear I will kill you."  
  
"It's fine!" Quatre heard Heero snarl from somewhere inside the shed.  
  
"Well, it sure doesn't sound "fine" to me, okay?" Catrina snapped over her shoulder. A loud crash sounded behind her. "And what was that?" she hissed through clenched teeth. "Another "fine"? If that was Deathscythe again then you won't live to see the New Year!"  
  
"It wasn't Deathscythe."  
  
"Good. But, if it wasn't Deathscythe, then what was it?"  
  
"Shenlong."  
  
"Shenlong?!? Did you break it?"  
  
"No."  
  
"How badly did you damage it then?"  
  
"Leg broke."  
  
"The leg broke? And how did you manage that?"  
  
"Dropped the hammer on it. And most of the table, too."  
  
"The hammer and the table? And you're sure that only the leg is broken?"  
  
"No."  
  
"No?" Catrina was becoming very angry by this time and was wearing a Death Glare that could rival Heero's. "Heero…"  
  
"I'll fix it," Heero hissed, cutting off whatever threat Catrina had been about to make. Poor Quatre, standing forgotten by the door, was almost dying with curiosity as to what these two were doing in the shed and what it had to do with Deathscythe and Shenlong. He decided to push past his sister and take a bit of a peek inside. As soon as he moved, however, Catrina turned her flashing eyes upon him.  
  
"And where are you going?" she asked.  
  
"Sorry…but I want to know what's going on in there!" Quatre replied.  
  
"Well…what?!? Later Quatre." Catrina turned around and closed the door. But not before she began to argue loudly with Heero. "Oh? Well, if you're so smart then you…" Heero mumbled something "Oh really?" she yelled. Quatre blinked and turned, making his way back to the house.  
  
After Dinner-Living Room  
  
A fire crackled warmly in the hearth and everybody sat crowded around it. Duo and Hilde were whispering about their wedding plans. Somehow, Sally had managed to get Wufei to sit next to her and put his arm around her. (Then again, Wufei looked extremely happy…maybe Sally had nothing to do with it after all.) Noin and Zechs were lounging together on a rather over-stuffed recliner. Treize and Lady Une snuggled together in a corner. Quatre had fallen asleep on Trowa's shoulder. Only Heero and Catrina stood alone in the great big room.  
  
The firelight began to dim, giving the room a more romantic hue. Every couple curled up together in the warmth of the fire. Duo looked up and saw Catrina lounging by the fire and Heero leaning against the wall. What is up with those two? He wondered. Quatre had told him about the shed incident earlier today. That had Duo thinking. He wondered if he sensed a mutual attraction between the two. Quatre awoke and slowly sat up.  
  
"What time is it?" he asked Duo.  
  
"'Bout ten or eleven," Duo replied. Wait…ten or eleven? Santa could be here at any moment and we're all still up! Duo leapt from his seat. "I think we should all go to bed, now!" he sang out. There were no protests from the others, though they did look a little miffed at having Duo suggest sleeping, instead of someone else.  
  
  
  
Upstairs  
  
Catrina moved swiftly towards her bedroom. She still had a lot of work to do before she could sleep. As she swung open the door to her room, she heard a soft beeping noise coming from her computer. The alert system! Not now! Catrina flipped open the small laptop and began its start-up sequence. As soon as the desktop loaded, she discovered a message blinking wildly. Which meant it was urgent. Well, guess that's the end of my stay. Clicking on the flashing icon, Catrina prepared to be told that she had to again disappear. 


	6. Chapter Six

!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"!-- saved from url=(0043)http://yaoijanai.com/fanfics/XmasParty6.htm --  
  
Home is Where the Heart Is  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Christmas Morning  
  
"HE CAME!!!" Duo's voice, filled with childlike wonder, rocked through the house and broke every calm, peaceful dream within earshot.  
  
"Duo?" came Hilde's voice. "What are you so happy about?" Hilde looked over at the gifts under the tree and smiled weakly. It was hard to believe in Santa Claus at three A.M. in the morning with only a few hours sleep. "Oh, I see. Santa came."  
  
"Yep! Now, let's open these gifts before time runs out!" Duo said and marched up to the tree. Hilde sighed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a very angry Zechs storming down the stairs, death in his eyes.  
  
"Hey, Duo! Do you, by chance, have a death wish?" she asked, aware of Zechs coming ever closer to the living room. It was kinda like watching Death, she decided.  
  
"A death wish? Are you kidding? I haven't even got married to you yet, Hilde-babe! Where did you get an idea like that?" Duo asked happily.  
  
"Well, your terrific yell woke everybody in the house and right now I can think of several people who wouldn't be as forgiving as me. So why don't we head upstairs using the back stairwell and play board games until nine," Hilde suggested. She could only hope Duo took her advice.  
  
"Board games? Aw, how boring! What about Twister?" he asked.  
  
"Great! Let's just go now." Hilde could see that Zechs had almost reached the living room doorway and Wufei had begun to descend the stairs, katana in hand. Hilde looked about for Catrina, sure that she would be out for blood. However, she was nowhere to be seen. For that matter, neither was Heero. Hilde decided to dwell on the subject later. Right now, she had to get herself and Duo away from the massacre area. 'Cause when Zechs got in here and discovered they were gone… Hilde shuddered. She wanted to be far away and behind locked doors. Many locked doors.  
  
At a far more godly hour of the morning  
  
Everyone was gathered around the tree, staring at the torn paper and scattered bows. Ribbons lay strewn across the floor and pine needles from the tree covered the carpet in a delicate wrapping. Each person was marveling over the gifts that Heero and Catrina had given them. Each person had received a small model of other their Gundams and their significant others had received the downgraded version. Duo was challenging Hilde to a fight with Deathscythe Hell clutched tightly in his hand, but Hilde was to busy trying messing with Deathscythe to care. Quatre was holding a small Heavyarms and Sandrock. Making them talk over their conflicts instead of fighting. (Because Trowa was his best friend, after all.) Wufei was glaring from a corner holding Altron, while a very pleased Sally was talking to Trowa about changing about Shenlong. It was then that Duo realized Catrina wasn't in the room with them.  
  
"Where's Catrina?" he asked rather loudly. Everyone in the room looked up and glanced around.  
  
"You know, I haven't seen her around all day," Sally mused thoughtfully to herself. "Why doesn't someone go upstairs and see if she's there?"  
  
Heero stood. "I'll go," he said in his usual monotone voice. Ever since he had got to know Catrina better he had learned that she was like him in his need for quiet sometimes. Maybe Christmas morning was just too much for her to handle, Heero thought as he reached the door to her room. Swinging it open, he felt his heart pitch forward when he discovered that she was not there. Heero was about to call down to the others when he saw something flutter on the bed. Moving swiftly over, he bent to discover two notes. One was addressed to him.  
  
Heero, (it read)  
  
I am so sorry I could not stay for Christmas morning. My work calls. I have no time to tell you anything other then that, but Lady Une can tell you more. I won't be around for awhile. Maybe two months if we have the several delays I think we will. Don't worry too much about me.  
  
Catrina  
  
PS-The gift on the bed is for you. Hope you like it. I will see you in two months. Don't forget me.  
  
That was all it said. Heero cursed under his breath and looked down at the small box on the bed. Opening it he discovered a perfect model of Wing Zero Custom. The only Custom Gundam she had built. Heero felt the Perfect Solider begin to crumble in the slightest manner. And just when I was getting to know her better. We were actually becoming…friends, Heero thought. He decided he had better talk to Lady Une about this.  
  
After putting Wing Zero Custom away in his own room along with the box and his note, he stomped loudly down the stairs. Quatre saw him first and heard the obvious hint of anger in the splintering of stairs beneath Heero's feet.  
  
"Is Catrina in one of her moods?" Quatre asked politely.  
  
"She's gone," Heero snarled. He dropped the second note on the table. Duo skittered over and snatched the note almost before it hit the table. He began to read.  
  
Sorry everyone, but I've had a bit of a call from work and my vacations over. Hope that you all like the models. Thank Heero for them. Lady Une can explain everything. Gotta go!  
  
Catrina  
  
The room was encased in silence. Then every single mouth opened and prepared to pepper Lady Une with questions. She held up her hand to silence them before they were able to begin.  
  
"Well, I guess you have all realized that Catrina isn't only Quatre's long- lost little sister by now, right?" she began. "Catrina is an active member on the Preventers…"  
  
"PREVENTORS?!?" everyone in the room shouted in unison. Lady Une sweatdropped.  
  
"Yes. The Preventors were never really closed off because of the constant threats to peace. They were kept a secret only because the members decided that they could work better undercover. And it seems they can," Lady Une continued.  
  
"And how do we know this for a fact?" Duo's voice rang out.  
  
"Quite easily, Duo. Have you been living in a peaceful world that hasn't had one threat of peace? Do you think that that could actually happen? The government has been funding the Preventors for years. They decided to keep them together after several small threats to peace occurred. Catrina has been a member for several years. She has been stopping threat after threat. It was only recently that she has been allowed to access anyone from her past. That was why you didn't know about her for so long, Quatre. And the latest I've heard from their leader is an old strain of White Fang has been reborn. That must be where Catrina is going now," Lady Une finished her explanation and watched the several people in the room.  
  
"Who leads the Preventors now?" Duo asked.  
  
"Treize and I."  
  
"You and Treize! You're leading the Preventors?" Duo asked incredulously. "Man, I can't believe this! So how long will she be gone?"  
  
"Two months at the most. But, it really shouldn't even take that long. Because, as far as I could tell, Catrina's mission will be to infiltrate the new White Fang base and destroy it and its leader. Really nothing for one so experienced in her field." Lady Une replied.  
  
"Actually, it will be a little more difficult then that, but Lady Une is right in believing that it shouldn't take her more then a couple weeks. She also has some side missions that she must take care of, along with the capture of the base and its occupants," Treize added.  
  
"Why didn't anyone tell us about the Preventors?" Heero asked from his post leaning on the doorway in the back of the room.  
  
"You didn't need to know, Heero. Your job's were over. The war has been fought and won. You five can now lead your own lives. The Preventors is now a small group, composed of very few members," Une continued. "Now each member's background is carefully scrutinized and observed before they are allowed to join. And, using this small company idea, we are able to keep a close watch on everyone and make sure there are no leaks within the system."  
  
"Gee. So you guys run a pretty tight show, huh?"  
  
"That's right, Duo. We have too," Lady Une finished. "And I wouldn't worry about Catrina. Heero can tell you just how lethal she really is." Lady Une smiled over at Heero. What's wrong with him? She wondered at his odd attitude. Heero looked distant and troubled.  
  
I hope she'll be okay…he thought silently.  
  
   
  
Three Months Later  
  
Quatre looked up from his paperwork when the vid-phone began to ring. As he turned it on, Heero's face appeared on the screen.  
  
"Heero! I haven't heard from you for awhile! Where've you been?" Quatre asked cheerfully.  
  
"Has Cat contacted you recently?" Heero stared out at Quatre.  
  
"No…should she have?"  
  
"According to Lady Une, she should have been back a month ago," Heero replied. "Something's wrong."  
  
"Yeah…hang on Heero, I just happen to have message coming in. I'll let you listen in, okay?"  
  
"Sure." The screen flickered and Heero watched as Quatre's face was replaced by…Catrina's?!?  
  
"Q...Quatre? Ar…are you t...there? They…captured m…me. An…d I n…need your help to escape. H…here are the coor…coordinates…please hurry. They…they…" Catrina's transmission was abruptly interrupted when a metal crash sounded. Her head snapped up and Heero watched as someone's fist connected with Catrina's jaw line. She toppled backward, smashing into the ground behind her with a sickening crunch. Heero felt his heart twist at the sight of Catrina lying unconscious on the floor, blood pouring from her mouth. The owner of the fist then cut the connection.  
  
   
  
   
  
  


	7. Chapter Seven

!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"!-- saved from url=(0043)http://yaoijanai.com/fanfics/XmasParty7.htm --  
  
Home is Where the Heart Is  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Winner Mansion-After the Vid-Call  
  
"Oh no…" Quatre whispered. "CATRINA!" He swiftly switched the screen back to Heero's face. "Heero? D…did you see her? What are we going to do?"  
  
"Did she send you the coordinates?" Heero asked. Quatre was amazed at the calm air that was about him. He looked down at the printout he held in his hand. He must have grabbed it sometime during the conversation.  
  
"Yes," he said.  
  
"Good. Send them to me immediately. Call Une and inform her of this development. Then call the others and have them assemble your mansion. I will arrive shortly with a plan. I trust that you taped the entire conversation."  
  
"Of course. Right away. See you soon, Heero," Quatre finished and terminated the connection. He had to hurry. "Rashid! Where are you?" he yelled.  
  
"Right here, Master Quatre," said Rashid, appearing out of the shadows.  
  
"Rashid, I need you to call up all my private planes and send each one to the Gundam pilot's houses. They need to go as fast as possible. I also need you to prepare all the spare rooms," Quatre ordered.  
  
"Of course, Master Quatre," said Rashid. He turned and left the room quickly and hurried to find an available vid-phone. Quatre began to call up each of his comrades and inform them of the dilemma. I hope we're in time.  
  
Hour and a half later  
  
Everyone was at Quatre's mansion. All but one. They had all gathered in the living room. Trowa leaned against the wall, impassive to his surroundings. Quatre nervously sat on the couch. Duo and Hilde sat together on the hearth, silently staring out into the group of people. Zechs was pacing the room, back and forth, back and forth. Noin was watching her husband. Lady Une and Treize were softly discussing the Preventors and Catrina's disappearance. Wufei was sharpening his katana, muttering to Sally about the injustice of it all. Sally regarded Wufei in silence. Heero was the only member that was not present. Even the forty Maganacs were in a separate room, waiting for news or orders.  
  
"Where is he?!" Zechs burst out suddenly. "We can't do anything without a plan and we have no plan without Yuy! Where are the coordinates, Quatre? We're going after with or without Yuy!" he stormed. Quatre was about to stand and get the printout, when he heard Rashid's voice from the front door.  
  
"Master Quatre! He has arrived!" he called. Quatre let out a sigh of relief. It was cut short when he saw the look of pure hatred in Zechs' eyes when Heero stepped into the room. He brushed past everyone until he reached the coffee table, where he dropped a handful of printouts onto the table.  
  
"The group calls themselves White Fang, after their original origin. They will kill her unless we hurry," he said in a dull voice.  
  
"Well, if you had been here any sooner, we could have probably saved her already!" Zechs glowered. "If she dies, it will be your fault." Heero raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Quatre, have you shown them the tape yet?" he asked.  
  
"No," Quatre replied. He swiftly turned on the television and played it through. Silence dominated the room as the short tape ended.  
  
"She got caught sending us the message. They were expecting rescue within the hour that she called. But, thanks to me, it appears that we didn't get the message and there is no hope for her," Heero said.  
  
"But, then that means that Catrina doesn't know that we know where she is! And she'll also think she has no hope!" Duo cried.  
  
"Yes, but it's better this way. Now she can't be disappointed," Heero said.  
  
"Heero? What's the plan?" came Sally's voice.  
  
"Duo and I will infiltrate the base. Duo and I will go after her, while twenty of the Maganacs will apprehend all of the soldiers and bring them to another ship. Zechs will pilot the ship we will be using. Sally will also be on the ship, to treat injuries any of us might sustain." With that said, Heero turned and left the room. The others silently followed.  
  
 *********  
  
"There it is!" Duo exclaimed. "This is where the coordinates say she is! Wait, MO IV? But…that's a supply satellite! Why would they be hiding there?"  
  
"Because no one would think to look for a base here," Noin said.  
  
"Have you reached the base, yet?" Lady Une's voice came over the intercom.  
  
"Affirmative. We will be docking and then Duo and I will go in alone," Heero said.  
  
"Make sure you keep within radio contact at all time, and good luck." The intercom connection terminated.  
  
"Let's go! We got a damsel in distress here!" Duo slipped into his space suit and prepared to leave the ship.  
  
   
  
Inside the Base  
  
Heero and Duo slipped past the last of the guards and looked over at Duo. "You look down that hall. I'm going to look through these rooms," Heero turned and sprinted off.  
  
"Sure, Heero. No prob." Duo moved into the next room and looked through it. All the rooms he saw were the same. Metal and plain, with only a desk and computer in the corner.  
  
   
  
Meanwhile  
  
Heero sprinted down the hallway. There were almost no locked doors and nothing that looked like a holding cell. He continued to run. Duo popped out of a doorway.  
  
"Hey buddy! Anything yet?" he asked. Heero continued on without stopping. "I'll take that as a no." The two kept running until Heero spotted a heavy metal door at the end of the hall.  
  
"There."  
  
"What? Oh, the door. Got ya," Duo said. A moment later, they reached it and Duo set a few, tiny explosives around its base. After the dust from the explosion settled, the two comrades entered the room. Chains and shackles hung from the walls and everything was coated in a fine covering of dust. After glancing about the small room several times, they finally saw Catrina. She was covered in the same dust, but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she wasn't even moving.  
  
"Catrina?" Duo asked hesitantly. He moved next to her and bent down. "She's unconscious." Her face was black and blue from bruises and her clothing torn into shreds. It looked as if she hadn't eaten a thing since she had been captured.  
  
"C'mon," Heero's monotone voice cut through Duo's examination. He moved over to Duo's side and picked up Catrina.  
  
"Let's get outta here!" Duo said. They left, Heero carrying the unconscious Catrina. They ran back through the base and out to the shuttle port. There they boarded their shuttle. "Hey everyone! We're back!"  
  
"Did you get her?" came Sally's voice.  
  
"Of course we did!" Duo said happily. "Although she is a little worse for wear." Heero came in behind him, still holding the limp girl.  
  
"I'll take her in the back," Sally took Catrina away as she asked her question.  
  
"All right. Did Rashid and the others capture everyone?" Duo asked.  
  
"Yes. They left a few moments ago to bring the gang to the police."  
  
Duo grinned. The shuttle's boosters fired up and they were headed back to the Earth and Quatre's mansion.  
  
   
  
Back on Earth  
  
The tired rescuers marched in to Quatre's mansion. Quatre was there at the door, the other twenty Maganacs behind him.  
  
"Where is she? Is she all right?" he asked.  
  
"She'll be fine, Quatre. Now, do you mind moving so we can get in?" Zechs glowered down at the eighteen-year-old.  
  
"S…sure." Quatre and the Maganacs moved off to one side. Quatre stood in the front, by the door, his eyes scanning through the group until he saw his sister. Heero was carrying her towards the front door. She wasn't moving. "Sally?" he looked up and the women as she moved past Quatre. "Is she okay?"  
  
"Yes, Quatre. She's just unconscious and a little beat up. I think that if she rests, she'll be up in no time," Sally continued, "what room can she have?"  
  
"Oh…any room that isn't occupied. Um, try the third floor, seventh door on the right."  
  
"Did you hear that Heero? Third floor, seventh door on the right." Heero grunted and began to climb the stairs. Sally followed behind him.  
  
"Well, that was interesting," Lady Une commented, appearing out of the shadows of a doorway.  
  
"Yes, it was. After all that rescuing and escaping, I'm really hungry. You wouldn't happen to have any food around, would ya, Quatre?" Duo asked his friend.  
  
"Oh course, Duo. I'll have the cook get something ready for you. In fact, why don't we all eat?" he said. "I'll go talk to the cook. Everyone else can make themselves comfortable until it's ready. Then I'm going to go and visit my sister." Quatre turned and walked off.  
  
   
  
Upstairs  
  
"She'll wake up, soon. I think we should just let her rest awhile. Someone should stay in here at all times. That way, when she does wake up, she'll know she's safe and not still captured," Sally said to Heero. "Oh, Quatre. How nice to see you." She repeated the diagnoses for him.  
  
"I'll stay here with her for a few hours," Quatre said. "Do you want me to get you when she wakes up?"  
  
"Yes. I'll be downstairs if you need me for anything," Sally said as she left the room.  
  
"So, Heero. Are you leaving too? The cook is making lunch downstairs. It should be ready in a couple of hours." Quatre looked over at the silent Heero. "Or, you could stay up here with me and Catrina. That would be nice. I would enjoy the company. How did you find her? Heero?"  
  
"What, Quatre?"  
  
"Are you okay? You look tired. Maybe you should get some rest."  
  
"I'm fine." Heero left the room.  
  
"Interesting…" Quatre mumbled. Suddenly, Catrina began to stir on the bed.  
  
"Ow," she said as she opened her eyes. "Where am I?"  
  
"Catrina! You're awake! How are you feeling?" Quatre's eyes lit with hope.  
  
"My head hurts. Where am I?" she asked again.  
  
"Oh, sorry. You're at my mansion."  
  
"Gee, that tells me a lot. You have what, fifty mansions?"  
  
"The one we had the party in," Quatre explained. "I have to tell Sally that you're up. Be right back!" He bounded out of the room. Catrina leaned back on the pillows. The shadows in the far corner of the room shifted.  
  
"Heero?"  
  
"What?" Heero's voice came to her.  
  
"You wouldn't mind getting me some aspirin, would you? My head is killing me."  
  
"Sure." Heero walked into the adjoining room and returned a moment later with a bottle of aspirin.  
  
"Thanks. So, you guys got my message after all, huh?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," Heero replied.  
  
"You could have told me, you know. I thought I would die and nobody would ever know what happened to me!" she yelled. "You're all too considerate," she said sarcastically.  
  
"If we told you anything, then the enemy might have found out and you would have died."  
  
"Oh, how reassuring. I trust that you captured everyone and destroyed the base?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Yes. So we're not very talkative this morning, are we?" Catrina asked.  
  
"Afternoon."  
  
"Does it really matter? If I was feeling better I would get out of this bed and…"  
  
"Really? I doubt it. Even if you were at your normal state of health, you couldn't beat me."  
  
"Do you think so? I'll get you…" Cat sat up, trying to carry out her threat, but soon realized that she couldn't. "OW! Oh, that hurt…I'll kill you later. After I can move."  
  
Heero gave her his empty smirk. Except, this one almost reached his eyes. "Wufei was right. Women are weak."  
  
"WHAT?!?! Grrr…that's it!" Remembering the last time she sat up, Catrina instead reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the aspirin bottle. Wincing, she threw the small, white container at Heero's head. "Take that!" she yelled triumphantly as the bottle hit him in the middle of the forehead, breaking open and showering pills everywhere.  
  
Heero blinked. In all his years of training, he had never had aspirin thrown at him.  
  
"HA! Not so smart now, are we?" Catrina sniffed, her nose in the air. "Didn't expect that one, did yo…hey!" Her assault was abruptly halted as Heero threw one of the white pills at her. "What was that for?"  
  
"Revenge." Heero was about to leave when a tissue box hit him square on the back. Then a small watch. Then a mini flashlight. And then a pocket knife. Catrina was throwing everything in reach at him. Moreover, she had a deadly aim. This was beginning to sincerely annoy him. Catrina seemed to notice this, and it amused her even more. Soon she ran out of throwable objects and settled for tossing pillows. He let this go on until she was on her last pillow.  
  
Heero caught it in mid-flight and sent it hurling back at her. Catrina tried to dodge it, but she couldn't with her injuries. Letting out a shriek, she brought the blankets up as a shield. A very ineffective shield. Once she had been hit, she hurled the pillow back at him. And he threw it back at her. It went this way for quite awhile. Catrina screaming and yelling and Heero catching the pillows and tossing them back in her direction without the slightest sign of emotion. The shouts reached Quatre and the others downstairs.  
  
"Is that Catrina?" Duo asked.  
  
"Sure sounds like it."  
  
"Someone must be after her!"  
  
"They don't give up!"  
  
"C'mon, hurry! We don't want her hurt anymore then she already is!" The entire company sprinted upstairs.  
  
"No! Stop! No fair!" Her voice wafted down the hall and reached the ears of the large group.  
  
"If I didn't know better, I'd say she was laughing," Duo said under his breath. They reached the door and Quatre swiftly opened it. He was instantly hit full in the face with a pillow. Surprised at its force, he staggered backward and fell over.  
  
"What?" his muffled voice mirrored his surprise. "A pillow?!?" Duo looked past him into the room. Heero was calmly picking up pillows and hurling them back at Catrina, who was still in bed. She was catching several of them, but missed them almost as often. After she had recovered from each strike, she would return the assault. Neither of them had yet noticed Duo standing in the doorway. Everyone else had their attention focused on Quatre.  
  
"Heero?" Duo said, questioningly. Heero looked over at him. Something that was in his eyes flicked a moment and went out.  
  
"Duo?" Catrina's voice asked.  
  
"Yeah, its me. What is up with you two anyway?"  
  
"Nothing…Heero insulted me and since I couldn't get up…never mind." Catrina sighed and looked about the room. Feathers covered every surface and small pills littered the floor. There were also a few in Heero's hair. Duo couldn't resist.  
  
"Hey, Heero! What's that on yer head?" He grinned ear to ear as Heero reached up a hand and discovered the small aspirin. After shooting Catrina a Death Glare, he left the room. Catrina threw the last pillow at Heero and hit him on the head. Feathers soon covered his hair and shoulders.  
  
"Bye, Heero!" she said cheerily. Heero, covered in feathers, left. However, not before glaring at a laughing Duo, who was rolling around on the floor, laughing, after Catrina had smacked him upside the head with a pillow.  
  
"Omae o korosu." That just made Duo laugh harder.  
  
  


	8. Chapter Eight

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Home is Where the Heart Is  
  
Chapter 8  
  
A few days after Catrina was rescued  
  
"You will NOT keep me in this bed a moment longer, Quatre!" Poor Quatre had been charged with the duty of keeping Catrina in bed until she was better. Personally, he couldn't hate this job more. His sister was not one for bed rest or recovery at all.  
  
"Now, Quatre. We're both civilized people right?" Catrina asked suddenly.  
  
Uh oh…Quatre thought. That's not a good sign.  
  
"And Sally said I could get out of bed when I was better, and I'm better so you will let me leave, now, right?"  
  
"Sorry, Catrina. Sally also said you wouldn't be better for another couple of days, at least," Quatre responded.  
  
"Then I'll have to escape," she pulled a gun from under the pillow.  
  
"Where did you get that?" Quatre asked.  
  
"It was a get-well gift from Heero. He thought I might need it later. Wasn't that thoughtful of him?"  
  
"You wouldn't kill your own brother, would you?" Quatre asked nervously, almost afraid of the answer.  
  
"Well, I guess not." Quatre gave a sigh of relief and slowly relaxed. "But I would injure him." Quatre gulped. Of all my sisters, why did I have to discover this one? "Now, I think I shall leave. Outta my way," Catrina sounded very unhappy now. Quatre silently decided it would be a good idea to get the others in here. He slowly moved backwards towards the dresser and pressed a button that Duo had suggested installing after recalling Heero's first meeting with her. Instantly, the sound of heavy feet on the staircase below filled the vast room.  
  
"Quatre? Did you press that button again? No fair!" Catrina grumbled as Duo and Hilde entered the room.  
  
"Whoa! Catrina! Where'd ya get the gun? Nice. Hey…isn't that Heero's?" Duo questioned.  
  
"It was a present. And I'm not giving up this gun to any of you until you let me out of this room!" she launched into a glare.  
  
"Catrina?" Heero's voice came from outside the room.  
  
"What, Heero? Can't you see I'm busy?" She swung the gun in the air for emphasis.  
  
"Heero! Please get the gun that you gave to Catrina," Duo asked. Heero looked at the three in the room. Quatre was shivering at the thought of his sister shooting him point blank, Duo was grinning nervously, and Hilde stood behind her fiancé, shooting glances at the angry girl. Smiling, Hilde inched her way from behind Duo and left out the door. We should be friends, she thought.  
  
*********  
  
Sometime Later  
  
Quatre slumped down in his chair. It had taken several hours to get the gun away from Catrina and now she was refusing to speak to any of them other then Hilde, who had left early, and Heero, who had given her the gun in the first place. Quatre had tried to coax the gun away, but after two hours, his voice was hoarse and she hadn't given up her weapon yet. Duo took on another tactic. He left and climbed up the balcony, much like he had seen Heero do, and snuck up on her from behind, while Quatre continued to beg her to give him the gun. He tackled her, and grabbed the gun out of her grasp before she could fire at him with it. That had been most interesting.  
  
Quatre reached for his teacup and began to sip from it. The mansion had been a lot quieter recently. Everyone went home after Catrina had been rescued except for Duo and Hilde, who thought that they needed a vacation. Heero decided to stay because he didn't want to go back to the empty scrap yard by himself. Sally and Wufei had also stayed. Sally because she wanted to make Catrina got plenty of bed rest and Wufei because…well, for one thing Sally wouldn't let him near the restaurant without her because he would start terrorizing the busboys and yelling at the waitresses for only being able to get such a 'weak' job. Last time she had left him alone, almost half their employees had quit. Moreover, Wufei didn't seem to be exactly mad that Sally wouldn't let him leave. And Trowa had stayed because the circus he traveled with had given everybody the month off. Only Abdul and Rashid remained out of the forty of the Magunacs.  
  
I wonder where Sally and Wufei were today when Catrina got the gun. Come to think of it, they haven't been around a lot lately. Quatre smiled. The front door slammed to the sound of Wufei's yelling.  
  
"I let you win, women! You think I would lose to the likes of you? You're a weak onna!"  
  
"Weak? I seemed to be doing quite well in the match, wouldn't you agree?" Sally snapped back. The two of them marched into the kitchen together.  
  
"You only beat me because those foolish officials wouldn't let me fight with my katana!" Wufei snorted. "It was unjust."  
  
"Wufei! It was a fencing match! You can't use real weapons!" Sally said. She then saw Quatre sitting at the table, his eyebrows raised, staring at them. "Oh. Hello, Quatre. How's the patient?" Sally asked, switching to doctor mode.  
  
"Catrina is fine." Quatre said. "She is feeling much better. We were wondering if she might be allowed out of her room every once in a while…" Quatre said slowly.  
  
"No, I think she should stay inside for at least another week," Sally mused.  
  
"Another week?!? But….but…." Quatre looked terrified. "Only if someone else takes care of her for awhile." Quatre had the look of a trapped animal.  
  
"What happened Quatre? Is Catrina okay?" Sally asked after seeing the look in his eyes.  
  
"Oh, she only threatened us with a gun for….three hours!!" Quatre said.  
  
"This is wonderful!" Sally exclaimed.  
  
"Wonderful?!? What are you saying? It's good she attacked us?" Quatre asked incredulously.  
  
"Well, by showing signs of aggression, she is obviously showing that some of her strength is returning," Sally explained.  
  
"Really? So, do you think she could get out of bed earlier then planned because her strength is ba…" Quatre began.  
  
"Absolutely not. She may be feeling better, but that is no reason to put her health in jeopardy!" Quatre's mouth fell open.  
  
"Sally…you should have seen her! There is no way you're going to be able to keep her in there!" Quatre said.  
  
"Yes, we can. I've dealt with patients like this before, Quatre."  
  
"Really? Who?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I'm not allowed to talk about a patient's confidential information, but…if you guess I suppose…" Sally smiled.  
  
"Oh, sure! Do I know him?" Quatre said.  
  
"Yes, very well, too."  
  
"That makes it easy! It must be Heero! He's the only person other then Duo, and Trowa, and Wufei…" Quatre looked confused.  
  
"It was Heero. We figured out several ways to keep him in his room…though some weren't as affective as others…" she said half to herself. "Quatre, do you have any strong locks that you can't pick?"  
  
"Yeah…I think I do…there are probably some in the basement. Unless they melted down when Catrina and Heero set of the explosives," Quatre replied.  
  
"Good. You go get those and I'll meet you up in Catrina's room," Sally finished.  
  
"Okay…" Quatre said slowly.  
  
"And Quatre?" Sally called over her shoulder.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Don't tell Catrina anything, okay?"  
  
*********  
  
Later-Night  
  
Catrina awoke to a darkened room. The curtains had been pulled over the window, emitting the moonlight. The door was pulled tightly shut. She reached under the pillow to get the gun, only to remember she had it no longer.  
  
She got out of bed and dressed. Then she walked over to the door and tried it. Locked. Moreover, from the feel of it, it would probably take at least an hour to break it. An hour she didn't have. I'll just go out the leap off the balcony, then, she decided. Pulling back the curtains she discovered a very large, heavy padlock on her sliding doors. Someone is a little overprotective. That didn't stop her, though. Hardly pausing a moment she went back to her closet, reached up onto the top shelf and felt around until she discovered the small box she had left. Opening the lid, Catrina revealed several small knives, a mini hand revolver, and a glass cutter. Heero is so helpful when it comes to little things like this. He even sharpened it for me! Wasn't that thoughtful of him? She grinned happily.  
  
Catrina walked over to the window and opened the blinds again. She began to slice the pane out of the window, leaving just enough room for her to slip through. After the pane had been cut, she let it drop inside the house, whereupon she dragged it over to a wall and leaned it up. I hope Quatre's not too mad, Catrina thought as she admired her handiwork.  
  
Grabbing a jacket, Catrina stepped into the night. A soft ocean breeze stirred her hair, which was in its regular ponytail. Catrina made her way to the edge of the balcony and looked downward. She was on the third floor, and, much to her distaste, if she injured herself by jumping, then the fun was over before it began. So, Catrina scaled the wall.  
  
Upon reaching the ground, she glanced around. Quatre didn't have any guards, but he had adopted some dogs from a local shelter to protect his property. She had already befriended these animals, but she still didn't want any of them to spot her and send up a ruckus. After reassuring herself that no animals were about, and then proceeded to make her way to the stables.  
  
Catrina swung open the doors to the stables. Horses snorted and stamped their feet. It was warm inside the colossal barn. The roof rose overhead to form a cathedral-like peak. Catrina ran down to Ash's stable, ignoring the slight pain in her side. Ash was her favorite horse. He was lithe and thin, but built with strong shoulders. Catrina and Ash had developed a trust with each other in the short time they had known each other.  
  
After saddling Ash, she rode out into the cool evening air. Stars shone brightly from the sky and the ocean glittered in the distance. Catrina rode Ash down towards the ocean, hoping to reach it and be able to return in the few hours that she had. Then she had to repair the window, which would take several hours….  
  
After thinking about it, she decided it wasn't really worth returning home for. Quatre would discover the window anyway, so she might as well enjoy her freedom now. Before they all locked her up again in those tiny rooms. Well, the rooms really weren't that small….but….  
  
Catrina sighed. She hated being kept in those rooms. She felt like a caged animal. They didn't understand. Now, she felt especially trapped after being stuck in that compound for so long. If Heero and Duo hadn't rescued her…she didn't want to think about it.  
  
A soft breeze tugged at her hair as she neared the water. A small outcropping protruded from the shore. Catrina dismounted from Ash and made her way onto the rocks. She freed her hair from its ponytail and felt it whipping across her face. She never wore her hair down anymore because it got in her way so often. No one had seen her with her hair down since she was a young child. Wind tore at her slight figure as she stood on the ledge.  
  
Catrina yawned. She hadn't realized that she was so tired. After escaping and running away on horseback…and her side was beginning to kill her. Maybe just a short nap wouldn't hurt, she thought as she lay down on the grass and promptly fell asleep.  
  
*********  
  
Heero awoke to the sound of birds chirping and sunlight streaming through his window. Everything was bathed in brightness and the day had begun without him. He never slept this late.  
  
Heero showered, dressed, and headed out to get some breakfast. His stomach growled with impatience but he ignored it, taking a detour to visit Catrina first. He was finding that he really liked Catrina the more he saw her.  
  
He swung the door open to her room. Duo had stolen the gun he had given her, so he would have to get that back for her later. Heero halted in the doorway when he discovered she wasn't in the bed. He glanced around the room, his eyes landing on the window. Cool air was wafting from its gaping hole.  
  
Well, looks like that glass cutter came in handy, after all. I'll have to get her a lock pick, too. Heero decided, after examining the heavy padlock on the sliding doors. He could guess that she had got tired of being locked in here and had just left.  
  
Closing the door, he moved downstairs to get some breakfast. As he entered the dining room, everyone looked up at him.  
  
"And where've you been, Heero?" Duo began. "You never sleep in! Did you stay up late last night?" He grinned sweetly. "Been visiting Catrina, hmmm?"  
  
Heero hardly moved an inch at his comments. "Sorry, Duo. But she isn't here right now," Heero said as he swallowed several pieces of toast, preparing himself for the search that was sure to come in a moment. He suspicions were confirmed as Quatre's head swung upward.  
  
"What did you say, Heero? Where is my sister? What have you done with her?" he insisted. Heero mentally sighed and decided not to respond to the question. Quatre and the others waited a moment later to see if Heero would say anything at all and then bolted out from the room and up the stairs, heading for Catrina's quarters. As they reached the floor, they saw Sally knocking softly at the door.  
  
"Catrina? Are you still mad at me? I need to come in and see if you're healing properly," Sally called and opened the door. The room was empty and the curtains were flapping gently in a breeze. Sally's mouth fell open as she saw the window. "And how did she manage that?" she asked slowly.  
  
Duo bonded into the room, took one look around, and promptly announced, "Glass cutter."  
  
"We will have to spilt up and look for her!" Sally said. Heero knew just where she was going. Catrina had told him countless times that when she was better, she and her horse would head down towards the ocean and stay there until they were forced back inside. It was quite obvious that Catrina did not like being kept locked up in a room.  
  
Heero was making his way towards the beach when he heard Quatre yelling that Catrina had taken her horse with her. Heero allowed himself a smirk. He was right.  
  
He walked for about an hour until he reached the shoreline of the ocean. He strolled up and down the coast, looking for Catrina or her horse. After several hours, he saw a beautiful gray horse standing by an outcropping of rocks that was ringed by a stand of bushes. Heero would bet anything that he would find Catrina beyond there.  
  
He pushed past the horse and the foliage and there she was, fast asleep. Her hair fanned out about her face, framing it in a golden-brown halo. The sun made it look like depthless pools of bronze. Her hands created a pillow for her weary head and her face was turned to the sky, allowing the spring sun to chisel and define her features like nothing he had ever seen before. Her long, thin body was stretched across the soft grass, seeking a comfortable purchase on the ground. Everything about her radiated beauty. Heero felt something deep inside him begin to stir.  
  
Catrina stirred slightly, as if sensing another presence was near her. Heero backed away before realizing that she had not awakened and was simply dreaming. She whimpered softly and cringed away towards where Heero stood. He reached a hand down and softly stroked her cheek, trying to wipe the nightmare away.  
  
At the touch of a pair unfamiliar hands, her eyes fluttered and opened slowly. She couldn't quite see who was in front of her, but they appeared to be bending down towards her. Catrina's judgment was clouded by the remnants of the terrifying dream she had just witnessed. She didn't think twice about leaping up and away from her attacker until she discovered the ground under her feet giving way. It was then she realized that she was well over forty feet from the ground and that she was now falling, backwards, towards the rough waves and grainy sand.  
  
Heero watched in horror as Catrina leapt away off the edge of the cliff and fell towards the earth. Something tore at him as he jumped to her aid. But it was too late. He missed her and could only watch as she hit the sand with a sickening impact. Heero ran from the cliff and reached her motionless body in less than a moment.  
  
"Catrina?" he whispered. Hope burned through him as she moaned and tried to sit up. He pressed her back down and began feeling for injuries along her arms and legs. Amazingly, she wasn't hurt seriously, though it felt as if she had fractured one of her legs badly.  
  
"Ow. Heero?" Catrina asked in a shaky voice. Heero looked down at her and glared. He didn't say anything. Then he scooped her up into his arms and began to walk back up the hill towards Ash. Catrina took a moment to realize what he was doing and then began to struggle. "Put me down! I can walk just fine! Heero!" she grumbled, twisting around.  
  
"You hurt your leg when you fell. You can't walk," Heero said in a dull voice. Her face fell.  
  
"Great. Now I'll have to spend even more time in that room," she mumbled. Heero looked down at her. Catrina was looking somewhere off into the distance, no longer struggling. Her face was crestfallen at the thought of being stuck in that room again. He actually began to feel a bit sad for her. He hated the thought of being "taken care of" as much as she did.  
  
"Don't worry about it," he stated flatly. Heero had made up his mind to help her. It is just a mission, nothing more, he told himself. However, for some reason he didn't believe it.  
  
"CATRINA!" Quatre squealed at the sight of Heero and Catrina coming up the walk with Ash trailing behind them. "Are you okay?" he asked as he reached them.  
  
Quatre, do I look okay to you?" she snapped.  
  
"She's upset," Heero said.  
  
"Um…I noticed. What happened?"  
  
"She fractured her leg."  
  
"Oh no! Catrina! How did you do that?" Quatre asked.  
  
"She fell," Heero answered for her, sensing that she didn't want to talk right now. Catrina gave him a small smile.  
  
"Oh. Well, we'll get you right to bed! C'mon Heero. We decided her room would be on the second floor now. Sally and Wufei are taking your old room upstairs, Catrina. Her room is the fifth door to the left," this was said to Heero. "We also thought that…." Quatre continued to talk, but Heero was thinking to himself and ignoring him. My room is right next to Catrina's. Heero wondered at this for a moment until he realized that Catrina had fallen asleep in his arms and Quatre was still talking to the both of them, never knowing that they weren't listening.  
  
"Quatre," Heero said quietly. He nodded his head at Catrina. Quatre looked up towards the house and whispered to Heero to bring her up to her room.  
  
*********  
  
Over the next several days, Catrina stayed in bed and did not ask to leave or complain about having to stay inside. Heero visited her almost daily. Normally, he would come in and sit down. Then, the two of them would just glare at each other until it was dinnertime. Heero would go and eat, then return. Catrina didn't know if Heero realized how much she liked his visits to her. It would be an extremely boring day if he didn't come by.  
  
That particular day, Heero hadn't shown up yet and it was almost lunchtime. Catrina was bored out of her mind and about ready to throw herself out the window when Heero walked in. Catrina smiled to herself. He sure took his time, she thought.  
  
"Hello Heero. And how have you been?" she asked. Heero didn't reply, but strode over to the bed and looked over at her.  
  
"Where has everybody been, anyway? I haven't seen them all day." Heero just glared at her for a long time. "Fine. Where are Sally and Wufei?"  
  
"Out to eat for the past five hours."  
  
"Duo and Hilde?"  
  
"Working on garage profits."  
  
"Quatre and Trowa?" Heero shrugged.  
  
"They've disappeared."  
  
"Oh. So, everybody is having fun but me and you, huh?" she smirked. "No surprise," she mumbled under her breath. Heero shook his head. Catrina was sick of staying in here. Maybe I can help her out, he thought to himself.  
  
"Heero? Where are you going?" Catrina asked worriedly. "You're not leaving are you?" Heero made his way over to her closet and began to pull out an outfit. He tossed it onto the bed and left the room.  
  
"Gee thanks!" she called after him. What is he thinking? she wondered as she began to dress. It was quite difficult considering that her leg was still in a cast. "Heero? You can come in now." She called out to him. Heero reentered the room. "Now, what is this all about anyway? Why won't you say anything? Tell me!" she insisted when he just leaned against the doorway and didn't respond. Suddenly, he moved over to the bed and scooped her into his arms.  
  
"Let's go outside," he said.  
  
"Huh? Heero? HEY! Put me down!"  
  
"No."  
  
"No?! Are you kidding me?" she yelled. He put a hand over her mouth.  
  
"Quiet. Do you want to be caught?"  
  
"No….but I still don't get it. Why are you helping me?" Heero didn't answer. Soon they had reached the door. Catrina swung an arm out and pushed it open. She found them in one of Quatre's many gardens. Heero brought her over to an ordinate wood bench and carefully set her down.  
  
"There," he said and sat down next to her.  
  
"Thanks Heero. That was really sweet," Cat whispered as she peeked out from under her chocolate colored bangs. A light blush crept over her face.  
  
"Hn."  
  
Catrina sighed. There had to be a way to get through to him. But what could she do? A sudden, evil thought stole into her mind. She reached a hand over and carefully covered his own. She gazed at his unchanging face and thought she saw the slightest twitch. Ha! The Great Heero Yuy…still, he hasn't said anything yet…  
  
She looked at him for a long while. She didn't know whether he knew she was staring intently at him or not. No matter. She decided to give up her little quest and just enjoy the beautiful day. She could make Heero show emotion later. Giving a slow happy sigh, she leaned her head against Heero's shoulder and closed her eyes, soaking in the sun. As she fell asleep, Catrina could barely feel Heero's fingers tighten on her own.  
  
*********  
  
Duo and Hilde stared out their window to their room at the since before them in the little garden.  
  
"Is that….Heero and Catrina?" Hilde asked suddenly.  
  
"I think so…Hilde-babe, do you know where the camera is?" Duo grinned.  
  
"Why, right over here, dear," she said happily and tossed him their digital camera.  
  
"Perfect shot, too. This is going to be fun."  
  
"Yep! Let's go!" Hilde whispered and moved over to the window and pushed the blinds aside once again and opened the window. "Clear shot from here!"  
  
"All right! Here ya go, Heero!" Duo called as he snapped a picture of the two together. "Now, let's see how this turned out, shall we?" he asked as he moved over towards his laptop.  
  
*********  
  
Catrina slowly opened her eyes. She noticed that she was back in her own room again. A slow smile spread over her face as she remembered her afternoon with Heero. I must have fallen asleep out there. I wonder where Heero went. A shadow shifted across the room and Hilde stepped into view.  
  
"Afternoon, Catrina," she said. Catrina's eyes traveled to the clock. It was past four already.  
  
"Hey, Hilde. Everything okay?"  
  
"Sure. Say, did you have fun this afternoon with Heero?" Hilde grinned in an off-handed manner.  
  
"Yes…why?" Catrina asked suspiciously.  
  
"Well, Duo and I saw you'll outside on the bench and…" Hilde trailed off to see Catrina's reaction.  
  
"Can't hide much from you two, can I?"  
  
"Nope! So…you like Heero as much as everyone thinks you do?" Catrina blushed.  
  
"Well…yeah…." She answered quietly.  
  
"Good. Then you'll appreciate this gift even more then I thought," Hilde said and tossed a small box onto the bed next to Catrina's side. "Just don't tell Duo that I gave it to you. He was planning on torturing Heero with it, but I decided that you could use it more then we do." With that said, Hilde turned and left the room.  
  
"I wonder what it could be?" Catrina whispered to herself. She slowly opened the box and discovered a small picture with her and Heero surrounded by the gardens lush foliage. She was sleeping on Heero's shoulder and Heero had his head atop hers and his Prussian blue eyes closed. I'm going to have to thank her… Catrina thought.  
  
*********  
  
Over the next few months, Catrina and Hilde became best friends. They talked almost daily about Heero and his past. Catrina learned about what Hilde knew about Heero's past and the details of the war that the Gundam's and their pilots fought so hard in. She began to understand Heero and the others better.  
  
Heero also stopped in every day. He would carry Catrina out to the garden and they would sit on the bench for hours, until the last trail of sun had faded away. Then he would take her back to her room and leave. The others had developed a rotation with her so she would never have to eat dinner alone. She enjoyed eating with Duo and Hilde because of their hilarious antics. Wufei would lecture her on the injustice of the world and Sally would tell him to shut up. They always brought a smile to her face. Quatre talked to her about everything he could, while Trowa looked on silently through one eye. However, it was the time with Heero she treasured the most. Even if they were silent moments where no one spoke and the only sound was chewing, she loved it.  
  
Finally, her leg was healed and she was able to walk again. Everybody was happy that she could move about of her own free will again. Catrina had just finished her dinner and was now in her room, carefully brushing out her hair when the soft insistent beeping noise came from her computer, telling her that she was needed for another mission. No! her mind screamed in rage. I was just having fun! And Heero and I were finally becoming more then friends! Not now! However, she knew that she had no choice but to go on and fight yet again.  
  
*********  
  
Catrina glanced about the empty hallway before silently slipping from the doorway of her room. It was almost one A.M. and she was making her way to a shuttle port so she could begin her mission a little bit sooner. A movement in the shadows caught her eye.  
  
"Who's there?" Heero appeared from the shadows.  
  
"Where are you going?" he asked quietly.  
  
"I have a mission to complete. That's all I can tell you. Sorry," Catrina whispered to him. Heero nodded.  
  
"Here, then. Open it on the shuttle."  
  
"Thank you, Heero," Catrina said, accepting a small box from his hands. "I will." Then, almost out of instinct, she stepped towards him and brushed a light butterfly kiss on his cheek. "I'll miss you." And with that, she was gone. Heero stood, staring at the place she had been a moment before turning and heading back to his room.  
  
*********  
  
Catrina sat on the shuttle with her eyes closed. It was several moments before she remembered the gift Heero had given her. I guess I should open it now… she thought. Pulling the lid off carefully she discovered a green sweater wrapped around a small object. She unwrapped the sweater remembering when she had told him that he owed her a new one and discovered a tiny model of…Wing Zero. In its hand, it held a small note that read,  
  
Come back to me.  
  
Heero 


End file.
